Refereeing team named for Liverpool v Man United – one name will give Reds fans nightmares

Liverpool and Manchester United have discovered which officials will be on duty for their Premier League clash at Anfield on Sunday.

The appointments for next weekend’s top-flight fixtures have been announced (via premierleague.com), with Michael Oliver the man in the middle for the showdown between the two eternal rivals.

Stuart Burt and Dan Cook are his assistants, with Anthony Taylor as fourth official. VAR will be operated by John Brooks – who was in the same role for our win at Crystal Palace on Saturday – and he’ll have assistance from Simon Long.

This is Oliver’s fifth time taking charge of a match between Liverpool and Man United, and the Reds have won none of the previous four (two draws, two defeats), although this is the first time the 38-year-old has had the fixture at Anfield (Transfermarkt).

However, the one name from the list above which’ll give LFC fans nightmarish flashbacks is Cook. He was the assistant VAR on the evening that we lost 2-1 at Tottenham in September, being one of the parties culpable for the shambolic process which failed to overturn the goal that Luis Diaz wrongly had disallowed for offside.

Along with primary VAR Darren England, he was stood down from duty the following weekend in the wake of those farcical events (Evening Standard).

It might help that he won’t be in Stockley Park on Sunday, although we’re just hoping – for his sake, as much as anything else – that he can have a good game on the touchline at Anfield and not become embroiled in another controversial incident involving Liverpool.

Indeed, here’s hoping that